Next patch is in beta!

AfterShock · 01-24-2008, 01:22 PM

Hi Guys,

Progress update on the next patch:

We are now in BETA! Which means most of the changes have been finalised and are undergoing balance testing. We had an extremely successful beta test last weekend, and I can safely say that you will LOVE the next patch

I won't paste the entire beta changelog because (a) it's far too long and (b) some stuff is still being tweaked. But the major changes:

GAMEPLAY

Scout: Caltrops and radar have been removed. Instead they have a buildable jump pad on +attack2.
Sniper: AR and Sniper rifle base damage has been reduced. (AR much moreso than SR)
Soldier: RPG damage radius increased to more TFC-like. RPG reload time decreased slightly. Nail gren code has been rewritten: they now own SGs again, and use much less server resources to use.
Demoman: Blue pipe fuse timer dramatically decreased (from 2.5 to 1.1 seconds). Pipetrap + blue pipe explosion radius increased (pipetrap moreso than blues).
Medic: Medic's special ability now throws medpacks for teammates to use (still undergoing tweaking)
HWGuy: New overheat system. You no longer overheat and there is no need for tapping (yay!) (still undergoing tw
Pyro: IC base damage has come down. Pyro vs Pyro flame damage increased from 50% to 100% of base (affects IC and flamethrower), but Pyro's still can't be lit on fire.
Spy: knife damage up to 50 from 32. Disguise time halved.
Engineer: SG health has come down to 113% from 120% (ish). Bullet push reduced.
ALL CLASSES (except medic): Melee weapons now do more damage. Crowbar + spanner up to 30 from 18. Knife up to 50 from 32. Frag gren dmg increased slightly (they were decreased 30% in the 1.11 patch - they are now about halfway). Bhop cap increased to 1.15 from 1.10 (when i mentioned 1.08% it was my error - we never tested that value on beta and the correct value is 1.15)

Also if you are on the ground when hand-held concing (and you don't jump), then you will perform a small conc jump rather than nothing happening. This will make it much easier for new players to understand what's going on, and less frustrating to switch between floor concs and HH concs.

VISUALS

Grenades now have trails and halo's around them (thanks mirv)
Blue and yellow pipes now have trails (thanks mirv / jiggles)
Nails now have a slight glow behind them to increase visibility
Player models have been tweaked to increase visibility (thanks 5316)
Grenade models have been tweaked to increase visibility (thanks 5316)
SG models have been tweaked to increase visibility (thanks 5316)
SG now throws out sparks when it's below 50% health (thanks jiggles)
New IC model! (well, a retextured RPG with some parts cut off, thanks omen + 5316 + decs)
No more ugly background for build timers (thanks mirv)
New HUD security icons for shutdown style maps (thanks 5316)
New FOV change on speed effect. Work in progress. Can turn this off/on from the fortress options menu item. (thanks mirv)
Shotgun muzzle flash more visible (thanks mirv)
Many visuals now line up correctly in widescreen modes (damage indicators, Context menu (thanks mirv)
Acceleration blur has changed, try it see what you think (thanks mirv)
AC firing blur has changed, try it see what you think (thanks mirv)
Fixed a conc/EMP effect issue (thanks mirv)
HUD health / armor no longer flashes red when you are hit. It'll only flash red when you are < 25% health to prevent confusion. (instead it flashes white when hit)
Grenade 2 timer up a bit so it's not so far down (thanks mirv)

BUGS / FIXES:
- Medkit fix. Should be much easier to heal people with medkit and spanner now, as friendlies are lag predicted now. (thanks jiggles)
- Suiciding no longer causes you to lose 100 fortress points

New functionality

New splash screen to tell you about any updates to FF if you are playing an old version.
New options screen with a load more stuff on it.

Wow, i guess i ended up pasting most of the beta changelog, haha. Basically the soldier is awesome to play now. Can pop people up in the air much easier than before, airshot more etc. He's really fun to play. Demoman is awesome now that blues are actually usable. He can DM like a beast now (but obv still has pretty low health, and no super shotgun) - so you dont just hide in a corner waiting to det a trap any more, you have more of an active role. HW should be much less annoying, personally I think the new charge system is awesome, but hey i would say that, i wrote it, lol. The jump pad is awesome but the physics are still undergoing tweaks. Basically means that the scout enables heavier offense classes and has a much more usable special (caltrops and radar were both pretty lame). The visuals are awesome.. everything is better! I'd better stop writing!

Anyway, the good news is, we're almost finished. Unfortunately this means stats probably won't make this patch but we decided to focus on fixing gameplay first, as if there's nobody playing the game, then there won't be any stats anyway

Stats hopefully next patch!

All that's left to do is tweak the jump pad values and the overheat system and a few other bits and bobs.

We're aiming to get everything locked down this weekend then a patch a week later, so hopefully first week in february-ish!

caesium · 01-24-2008, 01:33 PM

most excellent

Paft · 01-24-2008, 01:41 PM

Sounds brillaint.

GhostBuster · 01-24-2008, 01:54 PM

This is going out REALLY well.

Adamido · 01-24-2008, 01:56 PM

Well... so no alternate method of getting LVL3 burn without grens? :/
But the rest is WIN.
EDIT: What about Pyro's IC Bug? That's what makes people kill themselves with IC even if they are soldiers, engies etc.

Da Spadger · 01-24-2008, 02:21 PM

<Spadger> CALTROPS REMOVED?
* Spadger applies chainsaws to wrists

:[

Mooga · 01-24-2008, 02:23 PM

I keep requesting more boobs...
Still no luck.

groovyf · 01-24-2008, 02:25 PM

The beta is a true blast to play!

Had so much fun with it last weekend. I tell you, this really should bring more people back to playing

Vicious · 01-24-2008, 02:30 PM

I'm not thrilled that every class was improved somehow except for the engy

aside from that though it looks amazing. Are the jump pads usuable for everyone? I didn't grasp an answer from the post (I read it pretty quickly) or are they scout use only?

groovyf · 01-24-2008, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vicious

Are the jump pads usuable for everyone? I didn't grasp an answer from the post (I read it pretty quickly) or are they scout use only?

Anyone can use them, so not class specific, no

Agent Buckshot Moose · 01-24-2008, 02:41 PM

Very nice news. One question though:

The AR's damage definitely needed to be reduced, but the Sniper Rifle? It's hard as crap to hit anyone with it in the first place o_O. Just out of curiosity what brought on that change?

GambiT · 01-24-2008, 03:08 PM

ppl bitching about being owned by the sniper rifle.

mixer · 01-24-2008, 03:17 PM

Soldier made dominating class again? ... ok lets all play soldier then ...

GambiT · 01-24-2008, 03:23 PM

there are 3 things that really stick out to me in this patch:

1.) IC texture/model is beautiful, my favorite part of this patch

2.) the trails on the pipes are very very nice

3.) hasnt been mentioned yet so just wait and see

Green Mushy · 01-24-2008, 03:26 PM

OMG I'm so pumped for this patch. You make me so happy about this game guys! It feels so good!

Phatman · 01-24-2008, 04:03 PM

Yay patches!! I mean, wait, uh, yay patches!!

Sounds like some good stuff in the works. Wish I knew how to program and had internets at home. I'd totally help. Better get on the programming I guess.

Dr.Satan · 01-24-2008, 04:18 PM

I think you guys will be really happy with the changes being done here. In beta things are coming along very nice and hopefully this can get out soon!

Tyrant · 01-24-2008, 04:27 PM

Still no changes on conc grenades and wall friction? The skills community is a huge community. I don't know how you overlook this so much.

Not that it bothers me. However it does bother a lot of the oldies.

Dr.Satan · 01-24-2008, 05:02 PM

What exactly is wrong with them?

Private_Joker · 01-24-2008, 05:04 PM

I'm still whiny and scared by changes to Medic and Scout, but, bring it on!

I'm a little sad about losing caltrops, I feel like they had potential but went completely neglected...

I'll get over it.

-Joker

01-24-2008, 01:22 PM	#1
AfterShock Fortress Forever Staff Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts Rated Helpful 45 Times	Next patch is in beta! Hi Guys, Progress update on the next patch: We are now in BETA! Which means most of the changes have been finalised and are undergoing balance testing. We had an extremely successful beta test last weekend, and I can safely say that you will LOVE the next patch I won't paste the entire beta changelog because (a) it's far too long and (b) some stuff is still being tweaked. But the major changes: GAMEPLAY Scout: Caltrops and radar have been removed. Instead they have a buildable jump pad on +attack2. Sniper: AR and Sniper rifle base damage has been reduced. (AR much moreso than SR) Soldier: RPG damage radius increased to more TFC-like. RPG reload time decreased slightly. Nail gren code has been rewritten: they now own SGs again, and use much less server resources to use. Demoman: Blue pipe fuse timer dramatically decreased (from 2.5 to 1.1 seconds). Pipetrap + blue pipe explosion radius increased (pipetrap moreso than blues). Medic: Medic's special ability now throws medpacks for teammates to use (still undergoing tweaking) HWGuy: New overheat system. You no longer overheat and there is no need for tapping (yay!) (still undergoing tw Pyro: IC base damage has come down. Pyro vs Pyro flame damage increased from 50% to 100% of base (affects IC and flamethrower), but Pyro's still can't be lit on fire. Spy: knife damage up to 50 from 32. Disguise time halved. Engineer: SG health has come down to 113% from 120% (ish). Bullet push reduced. ALL CLASSES (except medic): Melee weapons now do more damage. Crowbar + spanner up to 30 from 18. Knife up to 50 from 32. Frag gren dmg increased slightly (they were decreased 30% in the 1.11 patch - they are now about halfway). Bhop cap increased to 1.15 from 1.10 (when i mentioned 1.08% it was my error - we never tested that value on beta and the correct value is 1.15) Also if you are on the ground when hand-held concing (and you don't jump), then you will perform a small conc jump rather than nothing happening. This will make it much easier for new players to understand what's going on, and less frustrating to switch between floor concs and HH concs. VISUALS Grenades now have trails and halo's around them (thanks mirv) Blue and yellow pipes now have trails (thanks mirv / jiggles) Nails now have a slight glow behind them to increase visibility Player models have been tweaked to increase visibility (thanks 5316) Grenade models have been tweaked to increase visibility (thanks 5316) SG models have been tweaked to increase visibility (thanks 5316) SG now throws out sparks when it's below 50% health (thanks jiggles) New IC model! (well, a retextured RPG with some parts cut off, thanks omen + 5316 + decs) No more ugly background for build timers (thanks mirv) New HUD security icons for shutdown style maps (thanks 5316) New FOV change on speed effect. Work in progress. Can turn this off/on from the fortress options menu item. (thanks mirv) Shotgun muzzle flash more visible (thanks mirv) Many visuals now line up correctly in widescreen modes (damage indicators, Context menu (thanks mirv) Acceleration blur has changed, try it see what you think (thanks mirv) AC firing blur has changed, try it see what you think (thanks mirv) Fixed a conc/EMP effect issue (thanks mirv) HUD health / armor no longer flashes red when you are hit. It'll only flash red when you are < 25% health to prevent confusion. (instead it flashes white when hit) Grenade 2 timer up a bit so it's not so far down (thanks mirv) BUGS / FIXES: - Medkit fix. Should be much easier to heal people with medkit and spanner now, as friendlies are lag predicted now. (thanks jiggles) - Suiciding no longer causes you to lose 100 fortress points New functionality New splash screen to tell you about any updates to FF if you are playing an old version. New options screen with a load more stuff on it. Wow, i guess i ended up pasting most of the beta changelog, haha. Basically the soldier is awesome to play now. Can pop people up in the air much easier than before, airshot more etc. He's really fun to play. Demoman is awesome now that blues are actually usable. He can DM like a beast now (but obv still has pretty low health, and no super shotgun) - so you dont just hide in a corner waiting to det a trap any more, you have more of an active role. HW should be much less annoying, personally I think the new charge system is awesome, but hey i would say that, i wrote it, lol. The jump pad is awesome but the physics are still undergoing tweaks. Basically means that the scout enables heavier offense classes and has a much more usable special (caltrops and radar were both pretty lame). The visuals are awesome.. everything is better! I'd better stop writing! Anyway, the good news is, we're almost finished. Unfortunately this means stats probably won't make this patch but we decided to focus on fixing gameplay first, as if there's nobody playing the game, then there won't be any stats anyway Stats hopefully next patch! All that's left to do is tweak the jump pad values and the overheat system and a few other bits and bobs. We're aiming to get everything locked down this weekend then a patch a week later, so hopefully first week in february-ish!

01-24-2008, 02:23 PM	#7
Mooga Colorless FTW D&A Member Beta Tester Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: A Small Box Affiliations: SRCDS.com Posts Rated Helpful 1 Times	I keep requesting more boobs... Still no luck. __________________ ~ Mooga ...w00t? SRCDS.com \| Twitter

01-24-2008, 03:08 PM	#12
GambiT Fortress Forever Staff Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Baton Rouge Class/Position: Spy Affiliations: -=DoM=- Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	ppl bitching about being owned by the sniper rifle. __________________ -------------------------------FF_Rock2(WIP)------------------------------ ---------------------------FF_RedGiant(Released)------------------------- --------------------------FF_Fragzone_G(Released)------------------------ --------------------------FF_Civibash_G(Released)------------------------ -------------------FF_Conc_G1(WIP)-------------------- -------------------FF_Hollow_G(WIP)---------------------

01-24-2008, 03:23 PM	#14
GambiT Fortress Forever Staff Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Baton Rouge Class/Position: Spy Affiliations: -=DoM=- Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	there are 3 things that really stick out to me in this patch: 1.) IC texture/model is beautiful, my favorite part of this patch 2.) the trails on the pipes are very very nice 3.) hasnt been mentioned yet so just wait and see __________________ -------------------------------FF_Rock2(WIP)------------------------------ ---------------------------FF_RedGiant(Released)------------------------- --------------------------FF_Fragzone_G(Released)------------------------ --------------------------FF_Civibash_G(Released)------------------------ -------------------FF_Conc_G1(WIP)-------------------- -------------------FF_Hollow_G(WIP)---------------------

01-24-2008, 04:18 PM	#17
Dr.Satan Wiki Team Fortress Forever Staff Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Greeley, CO Class/Position: Med / Solly Gametype: PAYLOAD Affiliations: DET- Posts Rated Helpful 19 Times	I think you guys will be really happy with the changes being done here. In beta things are coming along very nice and hopefully this can get out soon! __________________ FF Community Map Pack(s): 1 / 2 (Released) conc_school \| hellion_classic \| ksour_PAYLOAD \| mulch_faf (Beta) alchimy_b1 (Lua) base_payload_2015 (Models) props_trainyard Support FF:

01-24-2008, 01:33 PM	#2
caesium Fortress Forever Staff Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: europe Class/Position: anything Gametype: everything Affiliations: #teamfail Posts Rated Helpful 27 Times	most excellent

01-24-2008, 01:41 PM	#3
Paft Beta Tester Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: UK - http://forums.fortress-forever.com Class/Position: [O] Med Gametype: CTF/Skills Posts Rated Helpful 67 Times	Sounds brillaint.

01-24-2008, 01:54 PM	#4
GhostBuster SHUT UP AND SWALLOW Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Argentina Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	This is going out REALLY well.

01-24-2008, 01:56 PM	#5
Adamido Its over nine thousands!!! Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Poland Class/Position: midmap pyro / o spy Gametype: AvD Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	Well... so no alternate method of getting LVL3 burn without grens? :/ But the rest is WIN. EDIT: What about Pyro's IC Bug? That's what makes people kill themselves with IC even if they are soldiers, engies etc.

01-24-2008, 02:21 PM	#6
Da Spadger Insert stupid title here. Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	<Spadger> CALTROPS REMOVED? * Spadger applies chainsaws to wrists :[

01-24-2008, 02:25 PM	#8
groovyf In the clouds Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Halifax, UK Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	The beta is a true blast to play! Had so much fun with it last weekend. I tell you, this really should bring more people back to playing

01-24-2008, 02:30 PM	#9
Vicious Nothing left to believe in Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	I'm not thrilled that every class was improved somehow except for the engy aside from that though it looks amazing. Are the jump pads usuable for everyone? I didn't grasp an answer from the post (I read it pretty quickly) or are they scout use only?

01-24-2008, 02:41 PM	#11
Agent Buckshot Moose Wiki Standards Team Wiki Team Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Geokill's closet Class/Position: Sniper/Demoman Gametype: CTF Affiliations: :e0: Co-leader Posts Rated Helpful 6 Times	Very nice news. One question though: The AR's damage definitely needed to be reduced, but the Sniper Rifle? It's hard as crap to hit anyone with it in the first place o_O. Just out of curiosity what brought on that change?

01-24-2008, 03:17 PM	#13
mixer Interzone technican Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	Soldier made dominating class again? ... ok lets all play soldier then ...

01-24-2008, 03:26 PM	#15
Green Mushy Fortress Forever Staff Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Dallas, Texas Posts Rated Helpful 6 Times	OMG I'm so pumped for this patch. You make me so happy about this game guys! It feels so good!

01-24-2008, 04:03 PM	#16
Phatman n00bsauce Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Tucson, AZ Class/Position: Soldier/Pyro/ThatOneJerk Gametype: Anything that involves killing Posts Rated Helpful 1 Times	Yay patches!! I mean, wait, uh, yay patches!! Sounds like some good stuff in the works. Wish I knew how to program and had internets at home. I'd totally help. Better get on the programming I guess.

01-24-2008, 04:27 PM	#18
Tyrant Beta Tester Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Winnipeg Manitoba Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	Still no changes on conc grenades and wall friction? The skills community is a huge community. I don't know how you overlook this so much. Not that it bothers me. However it does bother a lot of the oldies.

01-24-2008, 05:02 PM	#19
Dr.Satan Wiki Team Fortress Forever Staff Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Greeley, CO Class/Position: Med / Solly Gametype: PAYLOAD Affiliations: DET- Posts Rated Helpful 19 Times	What exactly is wrong with them? __________________ FF Community Map Pack(s): 1 / 2 (Released) conc_school \| hellion_classic \| ksour_PAYLOAD \| mulch_faf (Beta) alchimy_b1 (Lua) base_payload_2015 (Models) props_trainyard Support FF:

01-24-2008, 05:04 PM	#20
Private_Joker a fucking comedian Beta Tester Join Date: Sep 2007 Class/Position: Scout and Medic Gametype: CTF Posts Rated Helpful 3 Times	I'm still whiny and scared by changes to Medic and Scout, but, bring it on! I'm a little sad about losing caltrops, I feel like they had potential but went completely neglected... I'll get over it. -Joker

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